[Joey x Chandler] COMPILATION OF SHORT STORIES FROM AO3

For someone to ripple the waters

■●□○AUTHOR: TEATROLLEY○□●■

Summary:

He's fine, though, he tells himself. He's dealing with it. He's dating girls, and using the excuse that he's bad at it when Joey asks him why he never brings anyone home anymore. He's fine.

That is, until Joey kisses him at New Year's, and everything changes.

___________

Or: Chandler is in love with Joey and it's not the sort of thing you say out loud. Until, one day, it is

Notes:

well. oops at me for deleting this on accident but ya know what, i like it, so here it is again for ya so i can have it on my page. me @ me after that horrendous wrong click: so no one told you life was gonna be this way (clap clap clap clap)

i headcanon chandler's dad as a straight trans woman who is only out as a gay man in the early seasons of the show, where this takes place, which is why i use he/him pronouns and have chandler discuss her as a gay man even though she's played by a woman later

(See the end of the work for .)

Work Text:

It starts when everyone thinks Chandler is gay.

He pretends like it's funny, but it's not. It's terrifying. It's his friends, looking at him and saying, that thing you try your damn best to hide in order to feel safe? We see it. We see it even when you don't want us to.

Maybe it would have been fine if it hadn't been for his dad. Maybe it would have been all okay if not for the fact that he got traumatised, back there, that he thought he had a happy family and lost it. That his dad loved someone else and wasn't, in fact, in love with his mum. Never had been, actually, and didn't care enough to stay, either

He tells the gang about it at Thanksgiving. Joey already knows, of course, and Ross does, too, but the girls don't. He wins the game of who had the worst Thanksgiving. It's nothing but a small mercy when he lost everything else.

He's fine, though, he tells himself. He's dealing with it. He's dating girls, and using the excuse that he's bad at it when Joey asks him why he never brings anyone home anymore. He's fine.

That is, until Joey kisses him at New Year's, and everything changes.

*

"Hey," Joey says, coming out of his bedroom. Messy hair, fuzzy robe, just awoken and all. Chandler is already sitting at the kitchen counter, eating his cereal and drinking his juice.

"Hey," he says, and watches as Joey goes into the fridge to pull out some milk for himself as he prepares his own breakfast. "What are you doing today? Audition?"

"Yes," Joey says. He sits down across from Chandler, already grinning. "Listen to this: Cabdriver." He looks off into the distance as if he's imagining something grand. "Number one."

"Wow," Chandler says. Smiling. "Number one. Things are happening for you, huh?"

Joey rolls his eyes.

"No, I mean it," Chandler presses. "That's great." Joey shrugs. "Have you got any lines?"

"Three."

"Nice."

"Yeah. And I'm going to have to react to the main characters making out in my taxi, so there's even a bit of emoting in there."

"Well," Chandler says. "I'll be crossing my fingers for you all day, man."

Joey smiles.

"Thanks," he says, with the sweetest sincerity. Chandler knows he's not good at saying things out loud, but if Joey is going to keep looking surprised whenever Chandler gives him a compliment like they're all news to him, then dammit he's going to learn to.